Udemy vs Skillshare

Are you interested in starting a profitable career in the tech industry? Many Udemy and Skillshare students are learning the skills they need to get hired for high paying jobs, but who is it better to learn from?

In my last review we compared Udemy vs Udacity and revealed that Udemy was the better choice. However now we’re going to compare Udemy vs Skillshare, which I believe is the gold standard for online-course websites.

We make some money when you purchase a product from a link on our website. If you found the content helpful, please use the link to get to the chosen provider of your choice. It doesn’t cost you a thing and it helps us put out great content. The money involved does not effect the ratings of any given product or service, we just link to an affiliate if there is one available after we write the article.

Through my journey I’ve tried almost every online curriculum, eventually I was hired to program and now make $110,000 a year before taxes. So needless to say I’ve been through the process and know which websites teach best and what employers are looking for.

Udemy

Don’t get me wrong, Udemy is an excellent choice and is one of my favorite online course websites to use. They have one of the biggest selection of courses available, teaching many unique skills and different specializations.

Many Udemy users are able to find jobs quickly after a few course certifications. Boasting more than 10 million customers they are one of the largest educational platforms available and are very reputable.

You can sample many of the courses and some are even free. Having lifetime access to over 80,000 unique courses you can began learning a new skill set today. The most popular courses are usually the best because they’re made by real professionals.

It doesn’t matter what level of experience you have, there’s something for everyone. So if you need more challenging courses or less you will find it in just a click of a button on Udemy.

Course Material – 8/10

Udemy is an open market which allows everyone the opportunity to create and sell their courses. The most popular courses are made by universities and professors who have real work experience in their field of work.

Usually the pricing of Udemy courses are cheaper than most competitors except for Skillshare. With Udemy you’ll get cheap courses but you’ll have to buy one after another. On Skillshare it’s a small subscription monthly fee, which gives you access to everything. That’s why it’s cheaper overall.

Some of the Udemy courses are made by regular people who are trying to make a quick money-grab. They quickly research a topic and then creating a subpar course to sell. You should avoid every curriculum which does not have many reviews. Stick with the most popular ones.

You can use the course preview mode to study a few minute of each course before actually making your purchase. So you can see if the instructor is legitimate and informative. Keep in mind, the popular courses on Udemy are all legitimate and predominately made by real professionals.

Customer Service – 8/10

Currently there is no phone support. They only offer chat support which does operate during extended hours, but still this is a big negative for Udemy. Hopefully they upgrade their customer service soon.

The chat support did resolve all my issues in a promptly fashion which is why I gave their customer service an eight out of ten.

Pricing – 10/10

You won’t find a better deal for buying individual courses. When it comes to cost Udemy is one of the best priced because each course is priced by it’s creator. Unlike competitors which charge a flat retail fee per course such as Udacity.

The only other site which I’ve found to be better priced than Udemy is Skillshare and I’ll explain why in the following section.

Skillshare

Skillshare is probably the best there is at what it does. It’s a community of students and teachers with interactive courses. You can ask questions, leave reviews and engage with other users in an educational environment.

With only 20,000 courses it’s not as much as Udemy’s 80,ooo. However it’s unique because with just a small monthly fee you have access to every single course. Unlike buying them individually for different prices.

Course Material – 9.5/10

Skillshare offers free courses to let potential users try it out first before committing. They even offer scholarships to students who prove the desire to learn and succeed. It’s the complete program made by real teachers for learning students.

The courses are more interactive because some require you to complete projects to be graded. It’s a feature unique to Skillshare and makes it feel like you’re really in a university with professors teaching the course.

If you get stuck you can ask other students or the teachers for help. It’s a peer to peer network where you learn from each other. You can even view other student’s completed projects, so there’s truly no closed doors.

There are classes at set times which you shouldn’t be late for or they’ll start without you. It’s really like a university. From my experience after using most of the online course websites I liked Skillshare the best because it’s the most complete educational hub.

Customer Service – 9/10

Phone support and chat support are both available. Although if it’s course related the community itself is like its own customer support. Ask your teacher or fellow classmates for assistance if you’re stuck on something.

Account and billing related issues can be resolved by calling Skillshare or clicking the chat box on their website.

Pricing – 10/10

The price is the best on the market. For only $12 dollars a month you have complete access to over 20,000 different courses. Those are huge savings when compared to the average private university cost of over 30,000 a year.

If you pay the entire year upfront it’s only $96 dollars, which is just eight dollars a month. Since the companies creation in 2010 it’s continuously set the standard for quality courses and remarkable pricing.

Skillshare vs Udemy

Both Udemy and Skillshare are massive companies with millions of students. However Skillshare comes out on top because it’s not just a marketplace like Udemy. It’s an actual educational hub that is made by teaching professionals for students.

After trying both websites each for over three months I can say Skillshare really does replicate the university feel. It’s a real live online school with pre-approved courses, project requirements, classes at set hours, all for one monthly fee, etc.. While Udemy is just a store for buying individual courses from random individuals.

Author: Jeremy Kallowitz

I have a passion for online education, I've managed to build a successful career without even finishing high school by learning using a wide variety of online resources. I love to share information and learn from others!